Joel Cooley:
CLASS OF 1965
West High SchoolClass of 1965
Anchorage, AK
Joel's Story
Life
Joel L. Cooley was born in Fairbanks, Alaska on June 11, 1947. Joels family also lived in Nome and Valdez prior to moving to Anchorage in 1958. In Anchorage Joel attended 6th grade at Turnagain Elementary School and 7-9th grades at Central Jr. High. After graduating from West High, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. In 1969 he was commissioned a 2ndLt, U.S. Marine Corps. Following graduation Joel married the former Nancy Garvin of Trumbull, CT. After completing The Basic School, Quantico, VA, and Combat Engineer Officer School, Camp Lejeune, NC, he was transferred to 3rd Engineer Battalion in Okinawa. Subsequently transferred to 1st Engineer Battalion in the Republic of Vietnam, he was assigned as a Platoon Leader, then as Executive Officer of Company C. He retrograded by ship to Camp Pendleton, CA as the Company Commander when the Battalion left Vietnam.
From 1971 to 1973 Joel served with the 1st Marine Brigade, MCAS Kaneohe, Hawaii as Equipment Platoon Leader and Executive Office of Company A (Rein), 3rd Engineer Battalion; Regimental Adjutant, 3rd Marines; and as Commanding Officer, Company A (Rein), 3rd Shore Party Battalion. After completing the U.S. Army Engineer Officer Advanced Course, Fort Belvoir, VA in 1975, he served as the Inspector-Instructor, Detachment 1, Engineer Support Company, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, USMCR, Eugene, OR. While living in Eugene, Nancy and Joel adopted their daughter, Jennifer, from Korea. In 1978 Captain Cooley returned to Okinawa and served with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS Futenma as the Assistant Officer-in-Charge and, later, the Officer-in-Charge, Detachment A, Marine Wing Support Group 17. From 1979 to 1982 Major Cooley was the Operations Officer, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion at Camp Pendleton where they adopted their son, Michael, also from Korea. After completion of the College of Naval Command & Staff, Newport, RI in 1983, he served a two year joint/combined to...Expand for more
ur with the Republic of Korea/United States Combined Forces Command, Seoul, Korea, as a Logistics Staff Officer in the C-4 Section. From 1985-1988 he was the Marine Liaison Officer to the Naval Staff College, the Naval War Colleges intermediate level school for international officers.
In July 1988 Lieutenant Colonel Cooley returned again to Okinawa for duty with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and served as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 until April 1989. From July 1989 through July 1990 he was the Commanding Officer, 9th Engineer Support Battalion. While serving in this capacity he was selected for promotion to colonel. In August 1990 Joel assumed command of Brigade Service Support Group 9, 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
In August 1991 he was transferred to Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., initially serving as the Marine Liaison to Navy Programming. Upon moving to the Washington, D.C., Joel & Nancy bought a house in nearby Burke, Virginia, where they still reside. Both Jennifer and Michael graduated from Lake Braddock High School in Burke. From March 1992 to June 1994 Joel was Head, Program Development Branch, Programs & Resources Department, HQMC and for the next year was the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Programs & Resources. In June 1995 he assumed duties as Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Systems, Command, Quantico, VA.
On September 1, 1977 Joel retired from the Marine Corps after 28 years of service. Joels mother, Stella, brothers, John, Dennis & Nathan, and sister, Janna, all live in the Anchorage area. Following retirement Joel temporarily returned to help rebuild the family cabin on West Beaver Lake which was destroyed in the 1996 Big Lake fire. Since then Joel and Nancy have come back to Anchorage every year. After several years of substitute teaching in Virginia, Joel became a full-time math teacher and has taught at Annandale High School, Annandale, VA for the last four years.
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